24: Race Against Time
by AgentPierce
Summary: Jack Bauer is pinned against a new wave of terrorists when the remainders of the Cordelia Virus fall into the wrong hands. Please Read and Review!
1. Prequel

**24: RACE AGAINST TIME**

**Starring:**

Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer

Elisha Cuthbert as Kim Bauer

Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida

Michael Agostinelli as Ethan Garrett

Nikki Reed as Allie Porter

and James Morrison as Bill Buchanan

This story does not acknowledge the end events of Season Four, including the "death" of Jack Bauer. Pretend these events never existed.

PREQUEL:

Jack Bauer walked into the vacant main floor of CTU, boxes in hand. He looked around, took a deep breath and walked up the stairs to the Head of Field Operations office.

He immediately put down the boxes on the empty desk and pulled out the first thing he saw, a picture of his daughter, Kim. He smiled and a single tear dripped down his face.

"Welcome back," a voice behind him said.

Jack spun around to see Bill Buchanan, Director of CTU, holding a coffee mug in his hand.

"To be honest, I really didn't know how to react when you called me the first time," Jack replied. "But I'm here, aren't I?"

"You were born for this job, Jack. I'm glad to have you back."

"Thanks, Bill."

Buchanan left the office as Jack settled in, taking out another picture and placing it next to Kim's. Except this one was of his girlfriend, Natalie Jameson. They had been dating for three months, but Jack felt like he knew her forever. She was intelligent and beautiful...A rare quality among bankers.

---

"This way!" Brad Hammond shouted, his gun leading the way across the warehouse.

"Yes, sir!" One of two groups of field agents followed.

Hammond was investigating a lead that he had received earlier in the form of the phone call. from his office at Division. The contact had said only, "The Cordelia Virus lives." Now, after tracing the call, he was leading a field team into an abandoned warehouse in Studio City.

"Murphy!" Hammond yelled into his radio. "Come in, Murphy!"

Silence. "Murphy!"

"Yeah, Brad, I'm here," Murphy replied into the radio.

"Have you found anything yet? This area looks clean."

Murphy took a deep breath as he stared at the masked man who was holding a knife to his neck. "No, we haven't found anything yet."

"Okay, copy that." Hammond turned off his radio.

The masked man immediately slit Murphy's throat. His body dropped to the ground.

---

Audrey Raines looked into her bathroom mirror as she combed her hair for her date.

"So, what restaurant are you thinking?" Audrey shouted into the bedroom. "I'm not in the mood for anything big, maybe just a salad."

"That can be arranged." Audrey's boyfriend snuck up from behind her and began kissing her neck.

"Stop...that tickles," Audrey giggled. "Jonathan..."

"All right. I'll be waiting in the car," Jonathan told Audrey as he walked outside.

He sprinted towards his car and opened up the trunk. Inside was a small suitcase. He unlocked it and gazed at the sniper rifle waiting to be assembled.

---

Hammond began picking a locked door in the corner of the warehouse. He opened the door and walked inside what appeared to be a large closet.

"Agent Feldstein, come in here..." Hammond ordered his men. No reply.

He peered outside of the closet and saw four of his men lying on the ground in a pool of blood. "My God..."

He suddenly grabbed his neck in pain. A tranquilizer dart had just struck him. He fell to the floor, unconscious.

Three masked men pulled Hammond's body up and dragged him out of the warehouse.


	2. Hour One

**The following takes place between 9:00 A.M. and 10:00 A.M.**

Tom Baker rushed through the streets of Hong Kong, blood dripping from his forehead, his clothes torn. He stopped at a dark alley, leaned against a garbage dumpster and dialed a number on his cell phone.

---

"CTU, Buchanan," the Director of CTU Los Angeles answered.

"It's in California!" Baker panted. "Bill, the Cordelia Virus is in California!"

Buchanan tried to comprehend the situation, in the process almost forgetting that he was still on the phone. "Tom?"

Silence. "Are you there, Tom?"

Baker sat on the ground, examining the blood that had just started coming from his nose. "Bill...Tell my wife that I love her."

With that, he put his gun to his head.

Buchanan heard a single gunshot. He closed his eyes, trying to hold in his tears.

---

Jack put on his jacket as Natalie slept innocently in their bed. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek sweetly. Her eyes began to open slowly.

"Jack..." Natalie whispered. "Are you leaving for work already?"

"Go back to sleep, baby," Jack replied. "I'll call you in a few hours. I love you, Natalie."

"I love you more..." Natalie sighed.

Jack turned to leave, but was stunned when Natalie jumped up from the bed and kissed him passionately.

"Don't forget all about me over there at CTU." Natalie massaged his shoulders.

"It's impossible to forget that smile..." Jack winked at Natalie as he left the apartment.

---

Brad Hammond sat in the middle of a dark, damp room tied to a chair. He hadn't eaten in days and he was covered in his own blood.

He looked up as the door to the room opened, and a small light shone through.

"Are we ready to try again, Mr. Hammond?" The voice of his torturer permeated through his mind, causing him to shiver.

"Please..." Hammond cried. "I don't know, I swear..."

"You and I both know that you're not a very good liar. Tell me what I want to know, or we'll have to go through the process again."

All at once, Hammond felt the areas of pain induced on him from the last torture. His captor pulled out his knife, stained with blood, and brought it to Brad's ear.

Hammond looked up to the man, tears falling from his eyes. "Please..."

The torturer brought the blade down, causing Hammond to scream in agony.

---

Kim sat at her CTU workstation, looking at a picture of Chase Edmonds, her fiancé, when Buchanan's voice echoed through the main floor from his office balcony.

"We have just received word from Agent Baker in Hong Kong that the Cordelia Virus is indeed in California."

Many of the analysts gasped. Kim's head rose as she remembered the tragedies of the last Cordelia Virus outbreak. She remembered how Chase received his prosthetic arm.

"Los Angeles cannot risk another outbreak," Buchanan continued. "If we can locate the virus in time, we may be able to prevent infection."

Chloe O'Brian stood up immediately. "Do we have any leads?" She inquired.

"Only one. Baker was undercover in a Chinese drug ring at the time of his death. You all might recognize the leader of the group, Hitako Sunabi."

A black-and-white photo of Sunabi flashed onto all of the computer screens.

"The CIA has uncovered some useful information already. As it turns out, Sunabi's private jet landed at Norton Airfield on Thursday. A team is heading over there now to inspect the plane. Also, one of Sunabi's men is serving a thirty-year sentence at Warwood Prison. I'm sending Jack Bauer to interrogate him."

Kim flinched at the mention of her father and sighed. This was going to be a long day.

---

David Palmer stood under a tent, waiting to walk his daughter Nicole down the aisle. Today was her wedding day.

A tear rolled down his face as he remembered cradling her in his arms as a child. This was the proudest day of his life.

"Hey," a voice behind him said.

Palmer spun around to see his son Keith smiling back at him. "Keith! Nicole told me that you wouldn't be able to make it, that you were still off fighting in the Middle East."

"I took a little time off. I wouldn't miss this for the world, Dad."

Palmer grinned and embraced his son. He then noticed Nicole approaching the tent, wearing a beautiful white gown.

"Nicole...You look beautiful."

"Thanks, Dad," She laughed. "Are you ready to do this?"

Palmer nodded and grasped his daughter's hand. They began to walk down the aisle, the guests staring at them in marvel.

---

Hitako Sunabi walked into the back room of the nightclub accompanied by two bodyguards. A familiar man in a suit was seated by a table, waiting.

"Mr. Sunabi," The man greeted.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Sunabi rested the briefcase on the table and opened it. Inside was a lone vial of a mysterious substance.

"The Cordelia Virus..."

"There's much more where this came from." Sunabi snapped the briefcase shut. "What's your offer?"

"Three-hundred million," The suited man instantly replied.

Sunabi laughed and picked up the suitcase. "The Cordelia Virus is one of the most lethal weapons on Earth. What you have just proposed is not an offer, but a joke."

The man did not move, but continued to stare at the briefcase. "Four-hundred."

A sinister smirk appeared on Sunabi's face. "You have yourself an offer, Mr. Drazen."

Andre Drazen stood up and shook Sunabi's hand.

---

Secretary of Defense James Heller sat in his limosine, waiting to arrive at his office. He pulled out a picture of his family and stared at it lovingly.

The limo driver quickly paid the toll and began to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.

Suddenly, a black car rammed into the limosine. Heller was propelled to the other side of the limo, dropping the picture onto the floor.

"What the hell is going on?" Heller shouted to the limo driver. "Raoul!"

He then noticed the bullethole in his driver's head. "My God..."

The black car rammed the limosine once more, causing it to tumble off the bridge and into the water below.

The driver of the black car exited his vehicle and stood at the edge of the bridge, watching the limosine slowly sink into the water. It was Jonathan.

---

Jack walked into one of Warwood Prison's holding cells, where CTU Agent Ed Miller was talking to a guard.

"Hey, Jack. Buchanan sent you over here?" Miller greeted, turning his attention away from the guard.

"Where's Chien?" Jack ignored the question.

"In the next room. I spent the last ten minutes with him, his lips are sealed."

"Not for long." Jack walked through the door, where a disgrunted prisoner was waiting, restrained to a chair.

"I already told your friend that I know nothing about Sunabi's whereabouts," Chien muttered.

"Well, now you're going to tell me." Jack pulled over a chair and sat next to Chien.

"You seem pretty confident." Chien sat back in his seat.

"Yeah, that's usually my attitude during these types of things. Here's why." He suddenly rose from his chair and jammed a syringe into Chien's neck.

"Argh!" Chien yelled. "What the hell was that?"

"It's called Beroglide. It's a very rare drug that, when injected properly into a man's veins, can kill him within fifteen minutes. Until then, it will create the feeling of drowning very, very slowly. Personally, I'd hope for death."

Chien began to gasp for air as the effects of Beroglide overcame him. "I want to speak to a lawyer! You have no right to do this!"

"This can all stop if you tell me what you know," Jack said, approaching the door. "Hitako Sunabi is our only chance at stopping the deaths of millions of United States citizens. Believe it or not, there are things worse than Beroglide."

With that, he shut the door, leaving Chien to writhe in his chair.

---

A van marked with the CIA label pulled up at Norton Airfield. Five agents in full gear jumped out and rushed towards Sunabi's plane, sitting stationary at the end of the runway.

One of the agents rushed to the airplane's front entrance and picked the lock on the door. He twisted the handle and entered the plane. Suddenly, he heard a loud beeping noise and caught a glimpse of the bomb he had just triggered.

The entire plane exploded, propelling the van backwards and incinerating the agents.

---

Edward Porter sat at his desk, his arms folded, staring patiently at the telephone in front of him. He flinched as it began to ring, and eagerly answered it.

"Hello?" He said into the phone.

"It's me," Andre Drazen replied, causing Porter to slightly cringe. "I've made a small business. If four-hundred million suddenly disappears from my account, don't be alarmed."

"Andre, four-hundred million?" Porter reacted. "These days, you're wasting money like it grows on trees! You won't have any left soon, and you know it as well as I do..."

"Calm down, Edward," Andre snapped. "This money is not going to waste, I assure you. It is merely an investment."

"I think it's time you start giving me answers. What exactly are you investing into here?"

After a moment of silence, Porter heard his employer's voice again. "Can I trust you?"

"Of course, Andre."

Andre sighed. "The Cordelia Virus."

Porter's eyes widened, and the phone nearly slipped from his hands. "I...I have to go."

"Edward!" Andre shouted into the phone. "You've been a great friend to me these past few years, but if you tell a single soul about this, I'll kill you with my bare hands. Do I make myself clear?"

Porter buried his head in his hands and tears began pouring down his face.

"I said, do I make myself clear?"

The accountant straightened up, and opened his mouth to reply. "Crystal."

Andre hung up, leaving Porter to stare at a picture of his wife and children, enclosed in a frame on his desk.

---

Jack stepped back into the holding cell, where Chien was shaking and sweating profusely.

"Are you ready to tell me what I need to know?" Jack asked.

"I have rights..." Chien cried.

"Wake up and smell the coffee. There's a deadly virus outside of these walls that has the potential to wipe out a massive amount of innocent people. You have no rights anymore. Not while I'm standing in front of you."

"Guard!" Chien choked. "Guard, help!" His chair tipped over and his mouth began to foam.

"You're the only person who can stop this!" Jack yelled at him. "Only you!"

Miller and the prison guard rushed into the room. "Jack, what the hell are you doing?"

"Ed, get out of here!" Jack ordered.

The guard rushed over to Chien, only to have Jack whisk out his gun and point it directly at his head. "Leave...now."

The guard stared at Jack, terrified, and then followed Miller out of the room. Jack turned his attention back to Chien.

---

Curtis Manning, Deputy Director of CTU, knocked on the door to Bill Buchanan's office.

"Come in," Buchanan muttered, and Curtis stepped inside.

"Bill, we just received a phone call from Division. A package was left in the front of the building about fifteen minutes ago. Inside was Brad Hammond's head, severed from his body."

Buchanan's mouth opened wide in shock. He was speechless.

"There was a small note enclosed in the package as well. A threat from Hitako Sunabi."

Buchanan took a deep breath. "Curtis, get President Keeler on the line. He needs to be made aware of the situation at hand."

Curtis nodded and rushed out of the room, leaving Buchanan to think.

---

Miller and the guard waited patiently outside of the holding cell. They nervously turned their heads as Jack emerged from the room.

"What...what happened?" Miller stuttered.

"He gave us the information we wanted. Let's get out of here."

Jack and Miller left the room together as the guard watched.

The guard got up from his seat, sighed, and opened the door to the holding cell.

He stared in horror at Chien's unmoving body lying on the floor in the middle of the room.

**9:58...**

**9:59...**

**10:00**


	3. Hour Two

**The following takes place between 10:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M.**

President John Keeler, equipped with a walking cane, limped into the White House conference room where his most trusted advisors awaited him.

"What's going on here?" Keeler asked his Chief of Staff, Mark Kanar.

"Sir, Bill Buchanan, the Director of the Los Angeles Counter-Terrorist Unit, is on the line. He has something urgent to discuss."

Keeler picked up the telephone. "Bill?"

"Mr. President, we've received information that leads us to believe that there may be a Cordelia Virus outbreak sometime today," Buchanan informed him.

"I'm not sure I fully understand..." Keeler trembled.

"Chinese drugrunner Hitako Sunabi, Number Eight on the CIA's Most Wanted List, has been confirmed to have smuggled at least one vial of the virus into California. Our entire unit is solely focused on locating him before he releases it into the public."

"Have any casualties been identified as of yet?"

Buchanan sighed. "Sunabi kidnapped and killed Brad Hammond, our Regional Director."

"My God..." Keeler turned to his advisors. "Send out a Secret Service team to CTU Los Angeles to aid them in their objective."

---

Leaving his office, Porter picked up his coat and whisked it over him. His phone began to ring loudly once more, causing him to cringe.

He knew exactly who was calling, but he would not answer the phone. He would not be a part of this. He would not work for a criminal.

Porter took his briefcase and exited his office as the phone continued to ring.

---

Andre Drazen finally hung up the phone, disappointed. He turned to his assistant, Charles McLemore.

"The accountant knows too much. I want him eliminated before he can tell anyone about the virus."

"It will be done," McLemore nodded.

---

Jack put his key in the ignition, starting his car. He waited until Miller got into the passenger seat before driving out of the prison parking lot, then grabbed his cell phone and dialed a number.

"CTU, Manning."

"Curtis, it's Jack. I finished the interrogation of Sunabi's man."

"Find anything useful?" Curtis inquired.

"The name and location of Sunabi's closest living relative," Jack replied. "His ex-wife, an American named Cynthia Federer. She became a ghost to the government after the divorce. According to Chien, he and a few of Sunabi's men brought her to live at an apartment in San Francisco. The exact address is 129 Braxton Avenue."

"Thanks Jack, good work."

"We'll be at CTU soon." Jack closed his cell phone and focused on driving.

"What exactly did you do to Chien?" Miller whispered. "Will he be okay?"

"He'll be fine," Jack muttered.

---

Palmer cut himself a slice of wedding cake as he talked with Aaron Pierce, his most loyal and trusted friend.

"How's it like working for President Keeler these days?" Palmer asked.

Aaron sighed. "His physical condition has improved since the attack on Air Force One, but his heart was broken by his son's death. I really don't know how he can go on with all these Presidential duties. He's a courageous man, David."

"He most certainly is," Palmer agreed.

He caught a glimpse of Nicole talking with a few of her friends. "I wish Sherry could be here today. She may not have been the best mother in the world, but Nicole was more close to her than anyone. If I had known that everything would turn out this way, I would have stayed a Senator."

Aaron looked down at the floor and nodded. "I'm sorry."

---

Ethan Garrett walked into the main floor of CTU accompanied by Sam Harris, his partner. They had both been recently reassigned from CIA Headquarters, and today was their first day.

A man approached them and introduced himself. "Agent Garrett, Agent Harris? We've been awaiting your arrival. I'm Curtis Manning, Deputy Director of this unit."

"We hear there's been quite a few revelations here in the last hour," Ethan said. "Care to bring us up to speed?"

Curtis bit his lip. "I'm sure you're both aware of the Cordelia Virus incident that took place a few years back."

The agents both nodded in unison.

"At least one vial of the virus has been confirmed to be located in California at this very moment. We need to find and intercept it before it is released."

"But...I thought every trace of the Cordelia Virus was eliminated by the government back when it first turned up," Harris replied, nervous.

"So did we up until a month ago. Division received a lead that Hitako Sunabi, a Chinese drugrunner, had obtained a substance very similar to the virus. We sent one of our agents, Tom Baker, to go undercover in his drug ring. About an hour ago, he confirmed that the substance was indeed the Cordelia Virus, and that Sunabi had smuggled it into California."

"Sunabi's Number Eight on our Most Wanted List," Harris informed Curtis. "He'll be impossible to find in time. Consider the virus unleashed."

Curtis shook his head. "We have a lead that will hopefully take us directly to Sunabi. Cynthia Federer, his ex-wife."

"Even we can't locate Federer. How did you...?"

"Never mind how we got the location, I don't have time right now to go into detail. You'll be accompanying Agent Almeida to Federer's home in San Francisco."

"Great. Where do we prepare?" Ethan asked.

"Follow me."

---

Allie Porter sat in her parents' living room watching television with her older brother Tom. She, along with Tom, had briefly taken a vacation from college to spend the holidays with their family.

Allie smiled at her mother, Wendy, who stood in the kitchen cooking breakfast for them, as Tom gazed on the screen at President Keeler's press conference from the day before.

Suddenly, her father, Edward, rushed in through the front door.

"Honey, we have to leave now," He said to his wife, panting.

"Edward, what's the matter?" Wendy asked worriedly. "Why are you so red?"

"There's no time...Get in the car, all three of you. They could be here any minute..."

Tom rose from his seat and looked directly at his father. "Dad, what's going on?"

"Daddy..." Allie shivered. She watched through a window as a black van pulled up into the driveway.

"We need to go!" Porter shouted, pushing his wife away. "Listen to me, Wendy! Get in the car!"

He was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.

"Hide," Porter whispered.

Allie grasped Tom's hand, her heart pounding. Wendy stared at her husband in disbelief.

---

Kim and Chloe watched as Buchanan stormed out of his office, a look of frustration on his face.

"What do you think he's mad about now?" Chloe asked. "Do you think the virus was released?"

Kim looked at Chloe, her eyes widening.

"What? It's a possibility."

Kim wheeled her chair around to see Buchanan standing in front of her. "Can we speak privately for a moment?"

"Sure." Kim stood up and followed Buchanan into a nearby unoccupied hallway.

"Kim..." Buchanan sighed and leaned his back against a wall. "Chien, the man your father interrogated at Warwood Prison, was found dead after the questioning. There were traces of the lethal substance Beroglide in his blood. Jack will be arrested upon his return to CTU for the death of this man."

Kim could only deny what she was being told. "Mr. Buchanan, think about what you're saying. How could my father even smuggle the drug into the prison, let alone administer it to the victim unattended by a guard?"

"We're still investigating those details. I'm sorry, Kim."

Buchanan rest his hand on Kim's shoulder, then left her side. Still standing in the hallway, she buried her face in her hands as tears began to pour down her cheeks.

---

The doorknob turned and McLemore slowly entered the Porter home, his gun raised.

"Anybody home?" He said menacingly.

The entire family heard his voice from inside the garage, where they nervously waited beside the door. Tom held a butcher knife in one hand as Wendy put her arm around Allie protectively.

Porter slowly peered out the door to see McLemore searching the living room. He turned to his wife and children.

"You all deserve an explanation for this...One of my employers is a man named Andre Drazen. Today he wanted me to transact a large sum of money into a private account. I asked why, and he told me his secret in trust. The money is being used to purchase the Cordelia Virus. And he threatened me...but I can't sit and watch this happen. Wendy, kids, I'm so sorry."

Allie stepped forward. "Don't be sorry, Dad. You did the right thing even when faced with these circumstances, and you're the bravest man I'll ever know. I love you, Daddy."

Porter managed to smile as his daughter embraced him.

---

As Jack drove, Miller's phone began to ring in his pocket. Jack's eyes shifted toward him as he answered it.

"Miller."

"Ed, it's Bill," Buchanan said into the phone from his office.

"What can I do for you, Bill?" Miller responded.

Jack turned into a gas station and got out of the car to retrieve the pump.

"Jack will be taken into custody when he returns to CTU," Buchanan informed him. "As will you."

"What are you talking about?" Miller inquired. "For what?"

"For the murder of a federal prisoner."

Miller was speechless. "Jack handled the interrogation behind closed doors. I took no part in it!"

"We'll sort it all out when you get here. Just make sure Jack gets here."

"Yes, sir." He hung up the phone and turned to the pump and was surprised to see that Jack was no longer there.

Miller slowly exited the car and gripped his gun in its holster. "Jack?" His eyes surveilled the area, but there was still no sign of his partner.

Suddenly, Jack rushed out from behind Miller and hit him over the head with a broom, knocking him unconscious.

"Sorry, Ed," Jack muttered as he got back in his car and drove away, leaving Miller to lie on the cement.

---

Porter held his daughter in his arms as Tom paced the garage.

"We can't stay in here forever," Tom complained. "I won't let these men do this to our family."

"Son, we have no choice," Porter replied. "There's a man with a loaded gun outside of this room, and he was sent by Drazen for a reason."

"I won't let them..." Tom repeated.

Allie admired his determination, but was afraid for her brother's life. "Tom, please don't..."

"At least one man in this house needs to know what's best for the family." Tom pushed Allie away and put his hand on the doorknob.

McLemore's attention was caught by the slightly-moving doorknob, and he began to slowly walk towards it, his gun leading the way.

Porter began to hear McLemore's footsteps as he neared the garage door. "Tom, back away from the door and get in the car..."

"I won't let you order me around!" Tom protested. "I'm a grown man!"

Porter saw as the door slowly began to creak open. "Tom!" He tackled his son to the floor as McLemore fired three shots through the door.

Wendy began to scream as Allie ushered her into the car.

"Dad! Tom!" Allie yelled for her family to enter the vehicle.

"Thank you, Dad..." Tom moaned to his father, only to see that there were two bullets in his back. He was dead. A look of pure terror spread over Tom's face.

"Edward!" Wendy cried, realizing that her husband had just been killed. "No!"

McLemore rushed into the room and began firing at the car. He didn't notice as Tom, filled with rage, picked up the butcher knife he had been holding.

"You son of a b!tch!" Tom threw the knife into McLemore's arm, causing him to scream in pain.

"Tom, get in the car!" Allie shrieked. Tom rushed into the backseat of the car as Allie drove into the street and away from the house.

McLemore stood in the garage, gripping his wound, and gazed upon Porter's dead body.

"One down, three more to go."

---

Tony Almeida burst into Cynthia Federer's apartment, followed by Ethan and Harris.

"She's not home," Harris observed.

"Don't be so sure." Tony sprinted into the kitchen and nearly threw up at what he was immediately faced with.

Lying on the floor, with a bullet between her eyes, was Cynthia Federer. She had been there for at least a day.

"Looks like we just lost our last lead," Ethan sighed, holstering his weapon.

---

Buchanan sat in his office pondering the current situation when his phone began to ring.

"CTU, Buchanan."

"Hello, Mr. Buchanan. Were my demands not clear?" A voice responded.

"Who is this?" Buchanan inquired.

"The man your unit is desperately trying to find."

Buchanan became extremely nervous, but did not reply.

"Don't ignore my question, Mr. Buchanan. I know that your men found the location of my ex-wife and tried to retrieve her. I believed I made myself very clear before with Mr. Hammond. That was your last warning."

"What the hell are you planning?" Buchanan asked, but Sunabi had already hung up.

---

Palmer stood up on the stage preparing to give a wedding speech. He gazed at his daughter, then at the guests. He smiled.

"Nicole, you look absolutely radiant today. I am so proud of you."

He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm, but he ignored it. "I wish you the best with your new husband. You two are so compatible, so loving..."

The pain began to grow worse. He interrupted his speech to roll up his sleeve and look at his arm, which was beginning to boil up. He hadn't felt this kind of pain since the assassination attempt made on him almost ten years ago.

"Please, excuse me for a moment..." Palmer said as the pain spread to his face. Stroking his cheek, he felt large bumps beginning to emerge.

Nicole and Keith immediately stood up and ran towards their father. "Dad, what's wrong?"

Staring at his children, Palmer fell to the floor. The boils were spreading to the rest of his body.

"Dad!" Keith yelled. "Dad, no!"

"I love you..." Palmer choked to his children.

Aaron pushed his way through the crowd of people and looked down at Palmer, who was writhing on the floor.

"Please, Aaron..." Palmer groaned.

"Don't make me do this, David..." Aaron pleaded.

Palmer's expression did not change. Aaron could see that his friend was clearly in pain. "Please."

Wiping a tear from his eye, Aaron suddenly whisked out a gun and pointed it at Palmer.

Two loud gunshots were heard throughout the tent. David Palmer was dead.

**10:58...**

**10:59...**

**11:00**


	4. Hour Three

**The following takes place between 11:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M.**

Aaron dropped his gun next to Palmer's body as the guests screamed in horror.

"You killed him!" Nicole cried. "How could you?" She fell into the arms of her new husband.

Aaron stayed silent as he gazed upon the witnesses of his action.

"He's the former President of this country! He should have received medical attention, not two bullets to the heart!" One man shouted.

"He pleaded..." Aaron said. "He pleaded for this."

"How do you know?" Another guest yelled. "He could have just been asking for some water!"

"Quiet, all of you!" A voice bellowed through the crowd. All eyes turned to Keith Palmer.

"Aaron Pierce is an honorable man, and he was my father's best friend. I refuse to believe any of your disgusting accusations when we all know in our hearts that this was the result of the attack on my father made over five years ago. This was purely the work of the Cordelia Virus."

The entire crowd gasped as Aaron lowered his head. He felt Keith's hand on his shoulder.

"Please leave, Aaron. I'm sorry."

Aaron nodded. "I understand."

The mob of silent guests made a pathway for Aaron as he exited the wedding.

---

The eyes of every CTU agent on the main floor turned as five Secret Service agents swarmed in.

Curtis stepped forward and confronted the men. "What's the meaning of this?"

"I'm Agent Merfield, and my colleagues and I are here regarding matters of national security."

Buchanan strolled over to them and glared at Curtis. "These men were sent by President Keeler."

"We don't need their help," Curtis muttered.

"On the contrary, the President of the United States believes you do," Merfield interrupted. "When the head of a government agent arrives on the doorstep of one of our facilities, this becomes our problem, Agent Manning."

"Step aside, Curtis," Buchanan ordered.

Curtis, seeing there was no use in arguing, complied and left the area angrily.

Chloe approached Buchanan and the Secret Service agents. "Ed Miller just called from a gas station a few miles away from the prison. He said that Jack hit him over the head and abandoned him there."

"I presume we're talking about Jack Bauer?" Merfield inquired.

Buchanan turned to Merfield and the other agents. "Jack killed a federal prisoner about an hour ago during an interrogation for information on Hitako Sunabi."

"We have to assume that Agent Bauer's gone rogue. He must be located and arrested immediately," Merfield ordered.

Buchanan took a deep breath and looked over at Kim, who was nerviously listening to the conversation.

---

Natalie Jameson, Jack's girlfriend, sat at her desk at the local bank where she worked. She watched as her boss, Mr. Slattery, walked towards her.

"Natalie, we need to have a little talk. Doris has informed me that you've been arriving late to work these past few weeks."

Natalie sighed. "Tim, I think I'm in love."

"Ponder romance on your own time," Slattery responded. "Three months ago you were the most reliable employee in this bank. You were a workaholic, just what we need around here."

"I'm sorry that I've recently gained a life." Natalie turned back to her computer.

"You know, I'd give you a demotion if you weren't my niece," Slattery said.

A young man with brown hair and an unshaven face approached them. "Excuse me, I'm looking for the manager."

Slattery turned around. "What can I help you with?"

The man whisked out a gun and fired a bullet into Slattery's stomach, propelling him backwards onto Natalie's desk. The people in the bank began to scream, but Natalie stayed silent.

"Everyone on the floor now!"

---

Allie pulled the car over at the police station and rushed inside, followed by Tom and Wendy.

"There's been a break-in at our home," Allie informed the desk clerk. "My father was shot..."

She could hear her mother crying in Tom's arms behind her, but couldn't bear to turn around and cry with them. She had to be strong.

"You're the Porters?" A black-haired police officer confronted Allie and her family.

Allie nodded. "Yes, but how did you know who we were?"

"One of your neighbors called in and reported that he heard gunshots coming from your home. We just sent a car over there to check it out. I'm Officer Thurman, by the way."

Tom looked up at Thurman and then kissed his weeping mother on the forehead.

"Would you like something to drink?" Thurman offered. "We have a lot of coffee and doughnuts, believe it or not."

Allie forced herself to slightly laugh as she followed Thurman into the staff room. Tom rested Wendy on a bench and sat down next to her.

---

Jack parked his car and entered a nearby phone booth. He dropped two quarters into the slot and dialed a number.

"CTU, Bauer," Kim answered.

"Kim, honey, it's me," Jack replied.

"Dad?" Kim whispered into the phone, surprised. "Dad, where are you?"

"I can't tell you that right now. What's the situation over at CTU?" Jack asked.

"Buchanan and some agents from the Secret Service are launching a full investigation in order to find you. Dad, is it true what they're saying about you?"

"I did what had to be done," Jack sighed.

Kim lowered her head as Merfield observed from the other side of the room.

Jack spoke once more. "Now Kim, I need you to relay some information from the CIA database over to my PDA. File 47108. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," Kim nodded. "Of course."

Merfield stopped Curtis, who was walking by. "Who is that analyst over there?" He pointed directly at Kim.

"Kim Bauer," Curtis replied. "Jack's daughter."

Merfield stood up and his eyes widened. "Trace that call," he ordered. "And don't notify the daughter."

Curtis glared at Kim and took a deep breath. "It will be done."

---

Natalie watched, her eyes filled with tears, as the bank robber taped her wrists together behind her back and tossed her with the rest of the hostages.

"Please," Natalie whispered to the robber. "My uncle needs medical attention. He'll die!"

The robber nudged Slattery's moaning body with his gun. "This man is your uncle?"

"Yes," Natalie replied. "Please..."

The man grinned. "I'll tell you what. I'll get that bullet out of your Uncle Tim if you give me the access numbers to your richest vault."

"No..." Slattery choked to his niece.

"Hey!" The robber pointed his gun at Slattery. "The next one goes between the eyes, old man."

"Vault 534," Natalie interrupted, tears pouring down her cheeks. "The code is 47-10-8."

The robber turned back to Natalie and gently forced his gun under her chin. "Now, beautiful, you're going to help me get inside that vault."

Natalie shivered as she witnessed her captor's crazed smile.

---

Jack watched as the CIA database information uploaded onto his PDA.

"Thank you, Kim," Jack said to his daughter as he put the device away.

Kim sighed. "Dad, be careful."

"I love you." Jack hung up the payphone and went back into his car.

---

Curtis approached Merfield, who was observing as Kim went back to work.

"We picked up the location," Curtis notified. "Jack Bauer called from a payphone at 240 Franklin Avenue in San Francisco."

"Deploy your closest field team out there to apprehend Bauer," Merfield demanded. "He can't run forever."

Curtis picked up his phone and dialed a specific number.

"Almeida," Tony replied, answering his cell phone from the CTU field van.

"Tony, I have orders to assign you on a new mission. And you're not gonna like it."

---

A lone police vehicle pulled up into the driveway of the Porter home. Two tired officers slowly exited, their guns raised.

They found that the door to the house was already open and walked inside.

"Is anybody here?" One of the officers shouted.

His partner immediately silenced him. "Stay calm, Harrison."

Suddenly, McLemore popped out from behind the kitchen door and fired two bullets at the cops.

Blood sprayed the walls as they both dropped to the floor, dead.

---

As Jonathan drove down the highway, his phone began to ring.

"Hello?" Jonathan answered.

"Jonathan..." He heard Audrey's crying. "I've been trying to reach my father for hours. The police just called me...His limosine crashed off the Golden Gate Bridge...He's dead..."

"Audrey, I'm so sorry," Jonathan said innocently.

"Please come home..." Audrey cried. "You're the only one who can make me feel better right now...My God, Jon, how could this happen?"

"I'll be home soon, baby. I love you." Jonathan hung up the phone and looked at the wet photograph of Heller's family, which was sitting beside him.

---

As the robber unloaded the money from the vault into a bag, he heard police sirens from outside of the bank.

"Erik Gordon, come out now with your hands up!" A police officer shouted through a megaphone.

The robber swore under his breath.

"How do they know your name?" Natalie inquired.

"Let's just say I recently cancelled my vacation to the Cornwell Mental Asylum," Erik sneered.

"We have SWAT teams ready to strike at any moment!" The police officer continued.

Erik turned to Natalie. "All right, honey, you're coming with me."

The other hostages gasped as Erik pressed his gun to Natalie's neck and began to drag her out of the back door of the bank.

"Why are you doing this?" Natalie screamed as Erik pressed the gun deeper into her neck.

"Even insane people need money, my dear." He threw Natalie into the backseat of his car and began to speed away from the bank.

---

Tony wiped the sweat from his forehead as his van approached a parked car with Jack's matching license plate number.

"What's the matter?" Ethan asked, noticing Tony's nervousness.

"The man we're about to apprehend," Tony replied. "He's my best friend."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Ethan hopped out of the van, followed by Tony, Harris and the other field agents.

Tony sprinted to a nearby alley, where he saw Jack sitting on a box behind a garbage dumpster working with his PDA.

Tony hesitantly raised his gun. "Jack..."

Jack looked up at Tony without a word.

"Jack, please don't make this harder than it has to be," Tony continued. "I don't want to do this, you know I don't."

"Then why are you?" Jack shouted, standing up.

Tony lowered his head, full of guilt. "It doesn't have to be this way."

"Yes, it does." Jack whisked out a tranquilizer gun and fired a dart into Tony's neck.

Shocked, Tony clutched the dart and fell to the ground, unconscious.

"We have an agent down! I repeat, we have an agent down!" Harris shouted through his radio as Jack rushed through the streets.

"I have a clear shot of him!" Ethan said, looking at Jack through the crosshairs of a sniper gun.

---

"Take him down!" Merfield said into the radio from CTU.

Kim walked over to Buchanan after hearing the order. "What's going on?"

Buchanan stared at Kim and pursed his lips, a look of sadness overcoming his face.

"No!" Kim shrieked as she saw Merfield on the radio with Ethan. "No!"

Security guards began to hold Kim back and drag her away as she continued to scream, capturing the attention of every CTU agent. "That's my father! No!"

Buchanan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

---

Ethan stood, his finger on the trigger of the sniper.

"Take him down, Agent Garrett!" Merfield repeated angrily.

Another voice was heard through his radio. "Don't listen to that order, Ethan."

---

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Merfield asked Buchanan, who had grabbed the radio out of his hands.

"I have jurisdiction here, Agent Merfield," Buchanan replied. "You will not order my men around any longer."

"President Keeler will hear about this!" Merfield threatened.

Buchanan sighed. "Security, please escort Agent Merfield and his colleagues out of the building."

"You don't know what you're doing!" Merfield shouted as a security guard gripped his arm.

"Thank you," Kim whispered to Buchanan.

Buchanan smiled back.

---

"What's the order, sir?" Ethan asked through the radio. He still had Jack in his crosshairs.

"Stand down, Agent Garrett. Stand down."

Ethan took a sigh of relief as he let go of the sniper and watched as Jack disappeared behind a building.

---

Erik stopped his car in the middle of the desert and escorted Natalie out.

"Get on your knees, darling," Erik demanded.

Natalie did as she was told. She felt Erik's gun press against the back of her head.

"Got any last words?" Erik asked.

"You're going to regret this," Natalie replied without hesitation.

Erik laughed. "You're just a cute little banker. No one cares about bankers."

"Oh, I'm more than just a banker."

Natalie suddenly dropped to the floor and spun her legs around Erik's head.

"What the..." Erik choked.

With a quick turn of her legs, Natalie snapped Erik's neck.

"Much more than just a banker." Natalie got up from the ground and began to drive Erik's car back to the bank.

Erik stayed still, lying face-first in the sand, dead.

**11:58...**

**11:59...**

**12:00**


End file.
